1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disc driving device suitable for use in a hard disk drive or the like incorporated into a personal computer or connected to the outside.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a hard disk drive, a floating or levitation head-type hard disk drive has heretofore been known wherein in order to avoid wear and damage that occur due to a contact between the surface (corresponding to an information recording and reproducing surface) of a magnetic disc and a magnetic head, the magnetic head is formed integrally with a floating or levitation slider having an air lubrication surface and the magnetic head records information on the magnetic disc and reproduces it therefrom in a state of being in non-contact with the magnetic disc. According to this type of hard disk drive, spacing losses can be reduced following some extent of irregularities of the magnetic disc and the wear and damage can be prevented from occurring.
Meanwhile, a head slider is at a stop in the innermost peripheral portion called xe2x80x9cshipping zonexe2x80x9d in a state of being in contact with the magnetic disc when the power is off in a common hard disk drive. With the power-on, the magnetic disc starts to rotate and the head slider starts to take off the magnetic disc under wind pressure from the magnetic disc. If the power is reversely turned off, then the head slider is shifted to the shipping zone and thereafter lands on the magnetic disc quietly. This system is called xe2x80x9cCSS (Contact Start Stop) systemxe2x80x9d because the head slider is landed on and taken off the magnetic disc in contact with the magnetic disc.
When flat surfaces are brought into contact with each other, sticking is generally easy to occur therebetween through a water or moisture content. In practice, the hard disc drive has attributed importance to the problem that the sticking occurs between the magnetic disc and the head slider due to high humidity or dew condensation. Even if one attempts to start the rotation of the magnetic disc in a stuck state, the magnetic disc is not rotated at all. At worst, the head slider or suspension might be peeled off or separated from an arm, for example. Thus, there is a possibility that the hard disk drive will not be used. The degree of this sticking increases as the size of a micro contact area called xe2x80x9ctrue or real contact areaxe2x80x9d increases. Therefore, the sticking is often avoided by roughly processing the surface of the magnetic disc on purpose.
However, a reduction in spacing defined between the magnetic disc and the magnetic head is very effective at implementing record densification. The spacing is expected to be reduced from now on. When the surface of the magnetic disc is roughly processed as described above in this case, the amount of floating or levitation of the magnetic head that runs in a levitated state, cannot be reduced, thereby causing a hindrance to the record densification.
It is thus considered that only the shipping zone is roughly processed. According to this, however, a problem arises that the number of man-hours needed to perform its processing increases and the levitation of the head slider becomes unstable in transition regions of the roughly-processed shipping zone and other smooth zones.
Incidentally, an NCSS (Non Contact Start Stop) system wherein even if the power is off, a head slider is brought into non-contact with a magnetic disc, has been proposed in addition to the aforementioned CSS system. This type of NCSS system generally adopts a method of placing a so-called slide called xe2x80x9clampxe2x80x9d in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the magnetic disc and withdrawing or retracting the head slider onto the lamp while the magnetic disc stops rotating.
According to the NCSS system, since the head slider is constructed so as not to contact the magnetic disc, a friction-wear problem can be avoided and a problem associated with sticking produced due to high humidity or condensation can be avoided. However, there arises a problem related to corrosion or the like that if the head slider is placed on the surface of the magnetic disc where moisture has adhered to the surface of the magnetic disc due to the high humidity or condensation, then the moisture adsorbed by the magnetic disc adheres to the magnetic head. This is similar even in the case of the CSS system even if not described above.
With the foregoing in view, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium driving device capable of previously preventing accidents such as head breakage produced due to high humidity or condensation, etc.
According to one aspect of this invention, for achieving the above object, there is provided a recording medium driving device for recording a signal on a recording medium or reproducing the signal from the recording medium, comprising:
a condensation sensor; and
means for controlling the operation of a device body based on the output of the condensation sensor;
wherein the condensation sensor is provided inside a device housing.
The condensation sensor is preferably attached to a member highest in specific heat, which is located inside the device body.
The part highest in specific heat may preferably be a part which constitutes the device body, or a mounting member made of the same material as that for the part.
The recording medium driving device further includes a part which slides over the recording medium. In the recording medium driving device, the condensation sensor is preferably attached to the part sliding on the recording medium or a mounting member formed of the same material as that for the part.
Preferably, the recording medium is a disk-shaped recording medium, a head slider provided with a head for recording a signal on the disk-shaped recording medium or reproducing the signal from the disk-shaped recording medium is further provided and the condensation sensor is attached to the head slider or a mounting member comprised of the same material as that for the head slider.
According to another aspect of this invention, for achieving the above object, there is provided a recording medium driving device comprising:
a head slider provided with a head for recording a signal on a disk-shaped recording medium or reproducing the signal from the disk-shaped recording medium;
an actuator for moving the head slider in a radial direction of the disk-shaped recording medium;
a condensation sensor; and
means for controlling the operation of a device body based on the output of the condensation sensor;
wherein the condensation sensor is mounted to the actuator.
The condensation sensor is preferably attached to an arm or a suspension which constitutes the actuator.
According to a further aspect of this invention, for achieving the above object, there is provided a recording medium driving device comprising:
a head slider provided with a head for recording a signal on a disk-shaped recording medium or reproducing the signal from the disk-shaped recording medium;
an actuator for moving the head slider in a radial direction of the disk-shaped recording medium;
a flexible printed board including a circuit for processing a signal recorded and reproduced by the head and controlling the operation of the actuator;
a condensation sensor; and
means for controlling the operation of a device body based on the output of the condensation sensor;
wherein the condensation sensor is mounted to the flexible printed board.
According to a still further aspect of this invention, for achieving the above object, there is provided a recording medium driving device for recording a signal on a disk-shaped recording medium or reproducing the signal from the disk-shaped recording medium, comprising:
a condensation sensor; and
means for controlling the operation of a device body based on the output of the condensation sensor;
wherein the condensation sensor is attached to a portion located in the vicinity of the disk-shaped recording medium and having the flow of air developed by the rotation thereof.
According to a still further aspect of this invention, for achieving the above object, there is provided a disk driving device comprising:
means for rotating and driving a disk-shaped recording medium;
an actuator for moving a head slider provided with a head for recording a signal on the disk-shaped recording medium or reproducing the signal from the disk-shaped recording medium in a radial direction of the disk-shaped recording medium;
a condensation sensor placed in a device body;
a detector circuit for detecting high humidity or condensation based on the output of the condensation sensor; and
means for controlling the operation of the device body according to an output detected by the detector circuit.
Preferably, when the high humidity or condensation is detected by the detector circuit, the control means controls the operation of the actuator so that the head slider is withdrawn from above the surface of the disk-shaped recording medium.
Preferably, when the high humidity or condensation is detected by the detector circuit, the control means controls the rotating and driving means so that the disk-shaped recording medium is rotated during some or all of a period in which the high humidity or condensation is being detected by the detector circuit.
Preferably, the head is a contact start-stop type, and when the high humidity or condensation is detected by the detector circuit in a state in which the disk-shaped recording medium is being rotated, the control means controls the rotating and driving means so that the disk-shaped recording medium is rotated during some or all of the period in which the high humidity or condensation is being detected by the detector circuit.
Preferably, when the high humidity or condensation is detected by the detector circuit in a state in which the signal is being recorded on or reproduced from the disk-shaped recording medium, the control means stops the recording or reproducing operation.
Typical ones of various inventions of the present application have been shown in brief. However, the various inventions of the present application and specific configurations of these inventions will be understood from the following description.